Gornje Podunavlje

Gornje Podunavlje Special Nature Reserve () is a large protected area of wetland in the northwest of Serbia (Vojvodina province), on the Danube's left bank. It comprises two large marshes, Monoštorski Rit and Apatinski Rit and vast forests, meadows, ponds, swamps and the Danube's meanders, including of the Danube course (1366 – 1433 km). It is a part of the trans-boundary biosphere reserve "Mura-Drava-Danube", a five country project, dubbed the "Amazon of Europe".

The name means "Upper Danube Valley". Parts of the nature reserve are subject to the Croatia–Serbia border dispute; Croatia claims some areas under Serbian control on the eastern side of the river.

Protection

Background

In the past 200 years, the amelioration of the area, especially the draining of the marshes, reduced once vastly spread wetland ecosystems in the Pannonian Basin to several patches along the major rivers. During that period, the rivers in the Bačka region were turned into the canals. Obsolete ideas of turning the natural streams into canals without gravel or sand in their beds was done allegedly for better sailing and floods prevention. However, in time dozens of plant and animal species disappeared and even the human population was affected by this process: fish catch diminished and underground waters, used for drinking, were not being purified through the soil anymore.

Establishment

The first designation as a protected area dates back to 1955, when an area of was proposed as an important habitat for the white-tailed eagle and the black stork. Since then, the area included and the level of protection has been gradually increased. Gornje Podunavlje was designated as a special nature reserve in 2001, with a total size of .

Level of protection

Within the reserve, there is a three-level zonation system established: protection regimes of category I (1.3%), II (24.7%) and III (74.0%). There is a huge biodiversity of Gornje Podunavlje Reserve. More than 150 bird species occur regularly in the reserve, amongst which a lot of threatened ones. It is an area of important aquatic and semi-aquatic vegetation, wet meadows and native lowland forests composed of willow, poplar, ash and oak trees. The area is rich in fish species, as one of the most important spawning areas along the Danube.

A project "Partnership for the living Danube" was established in 2007. Within the scopes of the project, of Gornje Podunavlje's wetlands were revitalized. A new method of removing the wooden and shrub vegetation, which suffocated the life in and around the ponds of Sarkanj and Semenjača, was implemented. A mosaic of natural habitats (wet meadows-saline marshes-water "mirrors") was restored. Floating plant colonies were also restored and regenerated: yellow iris, common duckweed, reed, European white water lily, yellow water-lily, common cattail and sedge. They soon became the nesting place for many wading birds. Some birds, absent from the area for over a century, returned. In 2017 works on revitalization of the marsh Široki Rit began, on an area of while the Štrbac locality is scheduled to be next.

Gornje Podunavlje is also declared an Important Bird Area, Important Plant Area, Prime Butterfly Area, part of the Emerald network and a Ramsar wetland.